Women's hoops postpones banner-raising

Our weekly USF notebook in Wednesday's Times led off with women's basketball coach Jose Fernandez missing two days of practice with severe abdominal pains, and the possibility he might not be able to coach the Bulls in their season opener Friday against Florida A&M.

USF is taking that possibility seriously enough that they've postponed the scheduled ceremony Friday to unveil a banner in the Sun Dome commemorating USF's WNIT championship last season. It only makes sense that Fernandez be there to enjoy that moment, and USF says they will reschedule the ceremonies to a later date.

"It’s extremely unfortunate that Coach Fernandez is not feeling well," USF assistant athletic director for marketing Ayo Taylor-Dixon said in a statement. "Our primary concern is that he get better and back with his program as soon as he can. We will re-schedule the banner unveiling at that time."

Fernandez remained at home resting Wednesday and was not with the team for practice, with associate head coach Jeff Osterman running drills for the third day in a row.

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